Category: good reads

Ars longa, vita brevis The art is long, and life is short. Andrew Sunter Sensei’s guidelines for training (Abridged and reproduced with permission) We look forward to Sunter San’s visit to our annual Winter retreat for a special session on the nature of Budo. 1.Aikido is a principle-based art, not a technique-based art. 2. Everything has advantages and disadvantages Everything… Read more →

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Aikido, like many an art form has been subjected to much scrutiny through combat effectiveness, ancient writings, opinion and more recently the sciences. Using the prism of western sciences it has been both praised or reviled. Many an attempt has been made by the Aiki/scientific community to successfully explain Aiki in this manner. There are the tawdry explanations of the… Read more →

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I admit it. I have been mystified by the IS practice methodologies for quite a while now. However, much as I did with my Ki training in Shin Shin Toitsu in the ’90s, I’ve put that aside to follow the pedagogy in the hope of finding out more through doing. It proved helpful in the Ki Society, where eventually I… Read more →

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In the martial arts the direct transmission from teacher to student is high valued, so too in the west we find this as well. The video below shows the transmission of a western ‘battle field’ practice to a direct student. Note the challenges of cross cultural communication are at work here. Some other opinions on teaching, learning etc… here http://www.aikidorepublic.com/aikido-techniques… Read more →

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by Michael Nash When you first set eyes on Hawaii you feel a sense of welcome, the embrace is in the land and the people. Time slows; the spirit of Aloha overtakes you, better to let it take hold. If you have a need for rapid response times and carefully planned agenda’s you will be endlessly frustrated in Hawaii. Drinking… Read more →

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Recently Will Reed Sensei recommended the following on his facebook page Recommended by Maruyama Sensei to understand the core of Aikido Yuishinkai as Budo. “Soul of the Samurai” Modern Translations of Three Classic Works of Zen and Bushido written by Yagyu Munenori and Zen Master Takuan. Translated by Thomas Cleary http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Samurai-Tuttle-Martial-Arts/dp/0804836906 Kindle Edition also available. I also found it on… Read more →

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Solo training is not a new idea in aikido, when you think of all the taiso at the start of class and the weapons kata there is plenty of it. But what is relatively new (well what’s old is new anyway) is the idea of purpose behind solo training. “Your aikido will only improve when your concept of aikido improves”… Read more →

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Today we teeter on the edge of the 3rd generation Aikido, that is, there isn’t the access to direct students of O’Sense, by and large. Also many of the boundaries to training widely, such as being locked within rigid hierarchal structures have started to soften or disappear, though there are bastions of expertise, ( and ignorance) running very well. Its,… Read more →

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Aikido Yuishinkai – Shaken, not Stirred* This past week we learnt that Maruyama Sensei will be reducing his international seminar touring schedule next year, and unfortunately this means he won’t be visiting Australia in 2013. In the same week Williams Sensei also stepped down from his role as International Chief Instructor of Aikido Yuishinkai. Wot the? In one breath the… Read more →

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Dear Aikido Friends, Sometime ago you may have heard of the home invasion of Edwin and Jutta and the ensuing altercation. It was well reported in the media initially and followed up here, there was also considerable discussion in the Aikido community. Both Edwin and Jutta are well known in Brisbane aikido circles having practiced for many years, Edwin was a… Read more →

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I like to read, and I read from a wide spectrum of sources. Over the past 12 months I have been reading a lot about ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. The basis of ACT is that we find it challenging to find harmony and happiness in our lives when we constrict the space around our problems. The remedy, and it… Read more →

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Our dojos been running a few years now (d!oh forgot the birthday), so part memory lane, part curiosity here’s a look at possibilities and how we are going so far . There are more than 20 aikido dojos in Brisbane. Its quite a large number (I’ve only gotten around to maybe 1/2 of them), but then the population of greater… Read more →

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Three Pillars of Aikido Yuishinkai A few months ago we learnt that Michael Williams Sensei was stepping down in many of the roles within Aikido Yuishinkai, though he remains our international chief instructor. In Australia, Williams Sensei has always been there at the front leading our aikido practice, and so the news was quite a shock, though on reflection perhaps… Read more →

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Being awarded a black belt in any martial art is often seen as a mark of proficiency. A black belt in some schools can take over ten years to achieve. Black belts today can be something of a commodity handed out in less than a year in some of the most commercial of dojo, in aikido dojo though black belt… Read more →